Michael McAleer answers your queries
From Seamus Greene:
We drive a BMW 318i which has been serviced by Joe Duffy Motors since our return to Ireland in 2000. We have paid approximately €1,700 during this period and have been satisfied until recently. However, we wish to highlight two separate incidents.
Our car failed its recent NCT as the "parking-brake imbalance" was 60 per cent. We made an appointment to discuss the problem with the garage. Despite having the NCT report and full service record for the car we were informed the work required would cost €150 in labour provided no parts were necessary.
On subsequent advice we went to another garage that handles BMWs where the brake pads were checked and cables were tightened for a minimal charge of €15. The car completed the retest. In the same week, my wife priced a set of wiper blades for €35. I called three days later to collect these and was quoted €39 (an 11 per cent increase).
According to a spokeswoman for Joe Duffy Motors, they have no record of this quote for the service and "€150 does not match any costs that we would have".
"We have also checked and no other BMW dealers have records of doing this work. Under normal circumstances the car would be brought in and checked before any quote is offered. We take pride in our service record, and two weeks after a service is completed the customer is phoned to assure that they are happy with the work.
"With regard to the price of the wipers, €35 is the correct cost quoted ex-VAT by the parts department. However, due to differences in tax rates, parts are sold from both the service department and the parts department at different rates of VAT."
According to the spokeswoman, parts departments deal mainly with trade queries, and so quote prices ex-VAT. When VAT is charged it's at 21 per cent.
However, non-trade customers should seek out the service department who can sell parts at 13.5 per cent VAT. This is actually what the Mr Greene was charged. The different rates were introduced to encourage people to get their cars serviced at a dealership. Our advice would be to buy through the service department.
From Trevor Peare:
Is it possible to find out the details of very old cars if you have the registration number? The photograph (right) is taken around 1906 of my grandmother in a motor vehicle with the registration number IF-23, and I would be very interested to know anything at all about the car.
My grandmother's name was Annie Kate MacCabe and she married James Alexander Peare, the brother of William Francis Peare who was mentioned recently in your Past Imperfect column as the owner of the first garage in Ireland in Waterford.
I know William Francis's son, Henry, who lives in Canada and who has helped me with a family history. Even if it is not possible to find out anything directly about this car, perhaps you could identify it? I understood that William Francis Peare manufactured and assembled cars on his premises.
We contacted our expert historian, Bob Montgomery, who informs that in the first years of registration marks, the index mark was given to the registered owner of the vehicle rather than the vehicle itself.
According to Bob: "IF23 was first registered in Cork in 1904 to James Magahy, South Main St, Bandon. It was still registered to him up to 1911 at least, but curiously in 1912 is listed as a motor cycle - most likely an error. "WF Peare established Ireland's first purpose-built garage at Waterford and there constructed several 'quads' (motorised four wheel motorcyles) at the turn of the last century. In 1902 he was reported as having developed a quad design especially suited to Irish conditions. No photograph of this machine is known to exist but photos do exist of their earlier machine.
"The photo of IF-23 bears several similarities to the earlier machine and follows 'quad' practice by having cycle mudguards. The body is quite crude and suggests that this may be one of WF Peare's creations, particularly because of the family connections. Alternatively, it may be a chassis, possibly an Alldays, which has been rebodied at a later date."
Send your queries to
Motors Help Desk, The Irish Times, Fleet Street, Dublin 2 - or e-mail them to motorshelp@irish-times.ie